Number Crunching

[Mythtify]

I am amazed and impresssed (honestly...not sarcasticly) with the amount of number crunching that I have seen in the threads. The threads on the character class revisions remind me of science class.
I was wondering if a lot of number crunching comes into play when you pick what class you want to play. I confess that I don't take a look at the numbers very much. I just pick a class I haven't played in a while and go with it.
If you do run the numbers before picking your class, what do you look for?
I am not trolling...Just intrersted in how other people approach the game.
Thanks.

 

[Umbran]

I was wondering if a lot of number crunching comes into play when you pick what class you want to play.

There are folks who like doing all that number crunching in picking classes, yes.

Not me. The purpose of the number crunching is to make sure that most paths are viable ones, and will yield up a character that will meet certain minimums of effectiveness. I think of it as a way to ensure that you don't have to do all the number crunching when considering what you want to play.

Also, the number crunching is useful for the DM, rather thanteh player. The CR system is nice, but not foolproof. Running through the numbers on some things is a good way to supplement the CR system when designing your encounters.

 

[Agback]

G'day

I agree basically with Umbran, that the game designers should do the number crunching so that the players don't have to. After all, I don't need help to cook up a dysfunctional game with rules loopholes the size of Cadillac. And I alway use my own background material anyway. I pay for games material so that I can avoid the work of making rules that work.

Regards,


Agback

 

[Mythtify]

So all the number crunching is mainly to find areas of the rules that might be a problem, and to find ways to either exploit those, or to keep them from being exploited?

 

[Umbran]

Mythtify - for my money, yes.

I'll differ with Agback slightly, insofar as I think it's valuable for a DM to occasionally crunch the numbers on his own, even after the designers have done it for him.

In general, I crunch numbers to make sure I understand what's up. Also, the designers can't explore every possible scenario, so having folks here crunch numbers to find holes is also useful. Helps the DM find holes he might want to patch.

And, of course, some players want to find the holes, so they can lay a smackdown upon their enemies.